Last weekend had both ups and downs, but I am choosing to focus on the positive, instead of dwelling on the single negative event that occurred.
I flew in Friday, had no delays or issues and my bow arrived with me (always a plus!). It was sunny and warm as I stepped out of the airport, and I knew I had some time to kill before my roommate for the weekend arrived. Once I got to the hotel, I knew I had to get a run in (I’m participating in the wingcrew march fitness challenge, which benefits kids with cancer). Unfortunately, in the 10 minutes it took me to get into my room and change, the weather had also changed. The winds were gusting and the sun was no longer out. Me and my pale white legs still headed out for a run that ended up reminding me of my high school track days. No matter which direction I turned, it felt like I was running into the wind. I did a little over 3 miles and made it back to my hotel with my now bright red legs, due to a severe case of wind burn, ouch!
Once my roommate arrived, we headed over to practice and to shoot the ProAm. Neither of us had ever shot this before, so we weren’t sure what to expect. It was to start around 6, and I had heard to expect about 30 mins, so we figured we would just grab dinner after. We got about an hour of practice in where I made a slight change with my elbow, so I was feeling excited for the weekend. Unfortunately, every thing got delayed and the ProAm ended up lasting until almost 10pm…and I had to shoot the 7am line the next morning.
Next morning I was up and at them, ready to get some practice in at 6 when the practice area opened. I wasn’t able to get any practice in, however, so I just sat by my target assignment and tried to relax. We had two official practice ends, which I knew had been enough for me at other tournaments. And then disaster struck, I shot a 4 on my very first scoring arrow of the tournament. It was a combination of timing and bad luck, but as soon as that arrow was released, I knew I wouldn’t be in the top 15 women for the weekend since scoring for Xs was worth the same as hitting a 5. I decided at that point that I was going to keep it together and go out and shoot a 299 with 59Xs, just to proved to everyone I could do it.
I shot unbelievably good that day, with more inside out Xs then I have ever had (by far), and had only one 5 (shot went exactly where the pin was). So although there would be no podium for me, I had to be pleased with my recent form changes and the fact that I kept my head in the game even after shooting my first ever 4.
That afternoon I got to spend some time with Xavier friends I haven’t seen in probably 8 years, and I met their 1 year daughter, who was all smiles! That evening we ended up having “girls” night out in Louisville, and we got to see a couple bands performing in the closed off 4th street.
Sunday was another 60 arrows, supposed to start at 2:30. Everyone knows how much I like shooting in the afternoon, but with delays we didn’t end up starting until 4:10…a nightmare for me. Shooting Sunday was just a formality since I had nothing on the line. I had ZERO motivation to shoot between the time and being out of the running and unfortunately it showed. I shot a 300 no problem, but my X count was low and I had very few inside out Xs. What is sad about tournaments like this is on day 2 I actually beat my score on day 1, yet day 1 was by far my best shooting of my life (and with other scoring would have been a personal best by 8 points!). Basically in this type of scoring someone with a 300 and only 10Xs beats someone with a 299 and 58Xs.
Winners were crowned, and I got to see some of my friends get their big bowls (these are given to the champions in each division). We then enjoyed a nice BBQ dinner and all hopped on planes early the next morning. Unfortunately there had been weather that night in Louisville, which had then moved on to the Virginia/DC area, so flights became a nightmare for many of us, but somehow we all found a way home that day. And with that my indoor season is officially over, and it is on to outdoors.